


Stardew Valley: The Farmer is Evil

by HeartofRune



Series: Stardew Valley: The Farmer is Evil [1]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25602736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartofRune/pseuds/HeartofRune
Summary: After a traumatic experience on the job leaves her unable to return to work, Corrine McChester's life takes a radical turn.
Series: Stardew Valley: The Farmer is Evil [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1855678
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

PROLOGUE: THIS FARMER IS A CAPITALIST

People get what they deserve. Work hard, stay disciplined, and have patience. If you can do these three things you will succeed in life. At least, that’s my belief.

Living life has a way of subverting your expectations though. The thought of how unfair it truly is crossed my mind as I snorted something gross of my office carpet. My head, the side of my neck, and my right shoulder seared with pain. The only thing I could process at the time was that I had been shot. From under my desk I could hear the gunman struggling with a worker I had previously been admonishing moments before.

My name is Corrine McChester, and I’ve always been successful. By my mid-twenties I had all the necessary degrees to start my own business from the most prestigious schools in the country. Of course it also helped that my family was super rich. Of course you might say my family’s wealth was the main reason for my success, and I would call you a lazy good for nothing in return!

I worked very hard in collage, and when I got out I bought my own JojaMart in Zuzu. Just out of the gate and I was already responsible for managing a few hundred employees. Most jobs at JojaMart are entry level, so we were swamped with workers with either no work experience or a sub-par work ethic. It was a revolving door, and letting go of underperforming staff was part of my job.

Gabe, the gunman, was a person I had recently let go. He did an inadequate job cleaning, himself and the store, and always messed up my orders. I had warned him repeatedly to do better, and that just led him to become more whiney and passive aggressive. One day I had failed a site inspection because of him and blew up in his face. I stopped just short of outright calling him a stinky loser and just told him to hand his uniform and keys over, then piss off.

Lazy staff lead to failed inspections, failed inspections lead to regional managers making ME feel like shit. It’s like trickled down economics, except for grief. I feel totally justified for “being a bitch”.

That’s what he screamed when he kicked in the door “DIE YOU BITCH!”

I was sitting at my desk at the time. The moment I saw the gun I ducked under my desk. I heard a loud bang as I hit the floor and then felt the searing pain. The worker, Will, which I had been admonishing, acted surprisingly fast. Before long I heard more people enter the room. Gabe had been subdued within twelve seconds of entering my office, and nine seconds after taking the shot. 

If you’re wondering where I was shot, then we both gave him too much credit because he missed. When I dove under my desk the large coffee I had been drinking fell on my head. Somehow my big brain had interpreted “Coffee Burn” as “Gun Shot Wound”. Physically I was fine. Not so much mentally.

The store was shut down for a week, and everyone was given stress leave. It should have been hard for someone like me take so much time off doing nothing, but instead I found myself dreading returning to work. The entire ordeal left me paranoid, and with an irrational fear that it was all going to happen again. I couldn’t return to work, so I tendered my resignation.

The Regional Manager was supportive and I left on good terms with the higher ups. Everyone felt so sorry for me, not even my parents batted an eyelash when I told them I was abandoning my career path over an irrational fear of being shot again by another angry loser with no other way to lash out. I had felt so many negative, self-deprecating emotions. Most of all, I just fell like my life was over.

But that was just the beginning; the impetus that brought me to Stardew Valley.

When I was very young I had a wonderful grandpa. We used to go on all sorts of adventures out in the wilderness. He was very knowledgeable about earth and nature and seemed happiest when I expressed a desire to learn. I loved him, and liked seeing him happy, so I asked him as many questions as I could. I probably still hold some obscure knowledge on how to effectively use herbs kicking around in my brain somewhere because of it.

He died when I was eight. I was so devastated. It felt like a big chunk of my life was gone. I used to love going out into the woods, but I couldn’t bear to do it without grandpa. I stopped going out into nature, and over time I forgot about how fun it was and move on.

The night before he died, my grandpa gave me a sealed envelope. He told me not to open it then and there. That one day in the future I would again find myself crushed by the burden of modern life and in despair. That was when I was to open to envelope and discover its contents. One last gift from the man I admired the most.

Much like the memories of the forest, I had forgotten about the envelope. I was winning so much in adulthood that I never felt that despair up until the point I had to quit my job. I always kept the envelope at the bottom of my sock drawer, for no other reason that it was top drawer, it was always present but never on my mind.

The morning after I resigned was the first time my eyes had settled on it in a long time. I stopped and realized that the conditions had been met. I was allowed to open my grandpa’s letter. A flood of old emotions hit me as I lifted it out of my sock drawer. I cried for the first time since I was a little girl. Luckily no one was around to witness my shameful display. I unsealed the wax and carefully lifted the letter out of the envelope.

‘If you are reading this, you must be in dire need of change’ it had said. ‘The same thing happened to me, long ago. I lost sight of what mattered most in life’ ‘So I dropped everything and moved to a place I truly belong’.

His letter spoke of Stardew Valley, the placed that kindled his love of nature.

With the letter he left me what he called ‘his most precious gift of all’. It was a deed to his farmland in Stardew Valley. I was shocked that our family still owned it, considering how desirable it was. I knew of a few high level capitalists that were trying to ‘break into the valley’ for various reasons. To the right buyer this deed could have made me a large fortune.

I doubt selling it is what my grandpa had intended, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say selling it for profit wasn’t at the forefront of my mind. A ping of regret did keep me from fully committing until I had a brighter thought. I bet that if I went down there and got the land back into working order, I could sell it for more money!  
Spring was just around the corner, and I was going to spend it in Stardew Valley!

UP NEXT: THIS FARMER IS A BITCH


	2. Chapter 1: This Farmer is a Bitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a traumatic experience on the job leaves her unable to return to work, Corrine McChester's life takes a radical turn.

CHAPTER 1: THIS FARMER IS A BITCH

I went to the valley the day after Gabe’s trial finally ended. He tried to plead insanity brought on by abuse. But he couldn’t convince the judge or jury of his wild claims. No one that worked at Joja was willing to come to his defense; the entire staff of three hundred, or so, was one my side. The most scathing thing his lawyer could ‘dig up’ was that one time I yelled “Don’t bring your disease here you idiot!” at a boy who came to work with a bad cough, even then sent him home with paid sick days so he wasn’t too torn up about it.

But now it was all behind me. Gabe was going away for a long time, and I was about to start an exciting new career in ‘Agriculture’.

“You’re finally here!” A redheaded woman, looked to be in her late forties, greeted me as I got off the bus. I recognized her voice.

“You must be Robin; it’s nice to finally meet you in person!” I shook the woman’s hand. She’s the local Carpenter and one of the people I had hired to help get things ready for me last month.

“It’s great to finally meet you too, Ms. McChester, I can’t believe it’s finally move-in day for you!” “I’m eager to show you what I’ve done to restore the farm!”

“Alright then, lead the way!” I happily replied.

I have to say, I felt a bit overwhelmed and out of place the moment I got off the bus. It was mid-afternoon by the time I had arrived. The bus had looked like it stopped in a park. There were a few magnolia trees and bushes pressed up against a nearby fence. A dirt path traveled just passed a small wooden fence ahead, and connected to a larger path on the other side. Behind me and across the street was a majestic mountain, and untamed forest. I even saw a rabbit bolt across the path the moment Robin and I left the bus stop!

I came ready to work. I came dressed in a pair of blue overalls and a white shirt, and I cut my curly hair short. I was about to become a Blue Collar Worker and I wanted to look the part. I just hope I didn’t look like an idiot.

“I finished repairing the bridge, restoring electricity to the cottage, restored most of the fences and other various tasks you assigned me to do!” Robin told me left the bus station and took a left.

“Great! Did the workers my dad sent get the barn, coop and silo setup?”

“Almost, they should be done in a few days.” Robin replied. “You’re certainly going to hit the ground running, if you feel overwhelmed at all don’t hesitate to ask for help.”

“Oh I don’t intend to work it alone.” I scoffed. “I intended to hire a few farm hands.”

“That’s great!” “The Mayor did some scouting for you, just in case, and asked if anyone in Pelican Village would be interested in working for you if you had an opening. Alex seemed interested, and Olivia was trying to get her son to find work.” “I suppose you can ask Mayor Lewis for the details.”

“You all really thought of everything.”

“We weren’t sure what you had in mind since, um, what happened.” Robin fumbled her way out of mentioning the incident. “But Alex and Victor are both good boys, I think you’ll like them!”

“I hope so, if they’re the only two he found…” Things were going to be very different out in the country. Pelican Town was small, and people willing to work couldn’t be so easily disposed of if things didn’t work out.

My claim wasn’t too far from the bus stop; it was just at the end of the road on the outskirts of town. Marnie’s Ranch was just next door; I was told that’s where I’d be buying my livestock and further down the road was Fairhaven Farm and Blue Moon Vineyard. I was quite happy to know there was vineyard nearby. 

The Cabin was pretty small; I assumed everything but the latrine was stuffed into one room on the inside. I spotted an outhouse along the path just before the cabin. So my assessment was probably accurate. It didn’t matter though; I was alone and didn’t need a whole lot of living space. I was more concerned with the coop and barn. If I was wanted to break into the market fast, I was going to need livestock.

As we approached the door of the cabin swung open. I let out a startled gasp as an old man with a thick grey, handle bar moustache stepped out. “Ah you’re here!” He wore brown overalls over a green shirt and tie.

“Sorry, I forgot to tell you Mayor Lewis was here.”

“I didn’t mean to startle you.” “I was just checking to make sure the cabin was fixed up and that your furniture and belongings had arrived.” “I trust Robin went over all details with you.”

“Yes, and I appreciate all you’ve done for me!”

“Thanks good to hear.” The Mayor smiled. “It’ll be a lot of work turning McChester Farm into what it once was, Corrine. Your grandpa would be proud of you.”

“His final letter had mentioned you; did you know him very well?” I asked.

“I did.”

“You’ll have to tell me sometime!”

“You might be able to catch me at the Stardrop Saloon in the evenings when my works done, come find me and I’ll reminisce about the old times!”

“Anyway, we should probably let you get settled in!” Robin said. “You should come visit my husband, Demetrius, and I up in the mountains this evening, we’d love to have you over for dinner!”

“I’d like that!”

“Be sure to wonder into town tomorrow and introduce to people, our community is so small that getting a new person is kind of a big deal.” The Mayor added.

“What kind of Hokey place is this?” I laughed. “It’s like I stepped into the small town past where everyone knew each other and dated their um…. I’ll just stop there…”

“Well, things work a bit different here than in the city Corrine.” The Mayor sounded a little offended. “And nobody’s dating their sister…”

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to offend you.” I snickered. “I’m just taken aback by the idea of an entire town giving a crap about a new addition is all…” “It’s very… quaint…”

“You just keep usin’ those old timey words…”

“Just don’t call us simple, or I’ll serve you slop for dinner.” Robin smirked.

Got a little passive aggressive at the end there, but overall I think I made a good first impression. After Mayor Lewis and Robin left I went into the cabin to drop my bags off. There was a small kitchen area in the left corner, a couch and a TV on the right side, and a bed and dresser on the opposite side of the ‘kitchen’. It really did look like a micro apartment.

After tossing all my bags inside I decided I was going to explore the town after all. The brochure made it all look very lovely. I wanted to check out the town center, the beach, and the Blue Moon Vineyards.

The town was in the opposite direction Robin and I took at the bus stop, so I made my way back there. There were two younger girls at the fork leading to the bus. One was a pink hair in blue overalls; the other was a redhead in a green shirt who had dark skin like me. The Pink hair’s back was turned to me, but neither of them noticed my approach. I had intended to just walk by silently, but things didn’t quite work out how I’d hoped.

As I was passing by the pink one got startled.

“Eeek!”

“Sorry!”

“Y- You’re Corrine aren’t you?” The Pink One said. “Sorry, I get startled easily.”

“Who’s this gal?” Her friend asked.

“I’m Corrine, the new farmer.” I answered for her.

“Nice to meet you, Corrine, I’m Scarlett, a friend of this dork.”

“I’m Sophia!” The Pink One replied.

“Pleased to meetcha!” I responded quickly.

“Hey… D-did you hear anything we were talking about?” Sophia asked hesitantly.

“Something about Medication?”

Uh ho.

I must have been really distracted, because I realized too late that Sophia’s question was one of those ones that you weren’t supposed to answer. Her face scrunched up and she let out a loud sob. Scarlett’s face also contorted into an angry scowl.

“What the hell is the matter with you?!” “Do you have any sense?!” Scarlett yelled angrily.

“Hey! I don’t care; this isn’t any of my business!” I threw up my hands.

“Clearly!” She replied.

“Look! Let’s just forget we saw each other OK?” I snapped back and started my retreat from the situation.

Sophia muttered an apology through her sobbing. She didn’t have any reason to be sorry, I was the stupid one. I should have immediately apologized for being so crass, but at the time I chose to run from the situation instead. It wasn’t like me at all; usually I take responsibility for my own failures. I told myself that I’d just apologize when I saw her again.

I had only been here an hour and I was already pissing everyone off…

UP NEXT: THIS FARMER IS A SELLOUT


	3. Chapter 2: This Farmer is a Sellout!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a traumatic experience on the job leaves her unable to return to work, Corrine McChester's life takes a radical turn.

CHAPTER 2: THIS FARMER IS A SELLOUT

It was like a huge patch of ugly in an otherwise beautiful sanctuary. I felt violated just looking at it, though I had no real reason too. I felt just as out of place here as I felt the JojaMart across the river was.

I hadn’t stepped in one since the incident.

It all felt kind of eerie as I approached. I couldn’t help but NOT think about how my old life ended as I approached the store. Since I was going to Robin’s to eat tonight I didn’t have to go in there now, but I gave myself the excuse of buying groceries for the next few days.

It was a lot emptier than I was used to, and looked a little brighter too! The layout matched my stores so I already knew it like the back of my hand. I grabbed a cart and made my way over to grab some canned soup, pasta, sauce, something to dump in pasta etc.

There one other person in the isle with me, and older woman with thick purple eyeliner and curly hair. I got a lot of customers that looked like her back in my old store. Low income, probably had a raspy cigarette voice, lived in a trailer etc etc. 

“Oh hey, you’re that new farmer everyone’s been talkin’ about.” The woman smiled at me. “Names Pam” “Don’t be a jerk and we’ll get along just fine.”

“Yea I’m the new farmer, names Corrine.” I replied. “You a farmer to?”

“Me? Naw, I used to run the local bus before it broke down.” “Now I’m unemployed.”

“That sucks, how come somebody didn’t send Pelican Town a new one or something?”

“Guess they figured we didn’t need it.” “Buses still come through from Zuzu and Grampleton.”

I felt a ping of regret for her. She was probably the town’s bus driver for most of her life. If it were me, I’d have just thrown dad’s money at the problem and bought my own damn bus. But I was born into privilege, and here I was being a judgy bitc- 

BANG!

All the bottled up anxiety of being in a JojaMart for the first time after the incident exploded as a loud and surprised cry escaped my throat. I smashed my body up against the isle wall and accidentally shoved my cart at Pam. Thankfully the old woman side stepped it.

“What the hell Shane!” Pam scolded the man behind me.

“Sorry, sorry! The damn cart wheel just froze!”

Shane, a thin JojaMart Employee with a five o’clock shadow, had a cart full of cans in boxes. One of the boxes in the front had fallen down and busted open, cans of pasta sauce were rolling all around the three of them.

“Warn people when you come up behind them like that!” “What the hell is wrong with you?!”I snapped at him.

“I apologize again, completely my fault!” Shane replied. “Karen was it? Welcome to Pelican Town!” I’ve been called a ‘Karen’ before…

“Listen here you little-“

“What’s going on over there?” Another man called out. “Why are people screaming in my store?!”

“Uh ho, someone’s in trouble.” Pam chuckled.

Shane’s complexion whitened a bit. A fat man with a side comb and round glasses turned the corner into the canned good isle. He was wearing a suit, and was most likely Shane’s boss. He looked a bit concerned at first, and then shot Shane an angry glance.

“I’m sorry Morris, the wheel on the cart froze suddenly and I slammed into it.” Shane explained.

“What kind of business are you running here Morris?” I smirked and tried to disarm the situation. “You need to grease that shit!”

“We’ll discuss this later Shane.” Morris gave him a disapproving frown then turned to me. “You must be Farmer McChester, welcome to the valley. I’m Morris Todd, the manager here at JojaMart.”

“Yep, everyone knows who I am.” I sighed.

“Well, it’s a small town.” “In my case the President wanted me to talk to you…”

“Oh, better butt out.” Pam interjected. “I’ll be seein’ yea kid!”

“It’s been a pleasure!” I turned back briefly and smiled. “So what’s this about?”

“The land you recently acquired, we’ve been trying to acquire it for some time but it was caught up in some mysterious Trust.” “Now that you’re visible, they’d like to know if you’d be willing to sell it.”

“How much are they willing to start for it?”

“One Hundred Million Dollars.”

“Woah! What the hell?! You’d think there was gold peppered in with the shit in the soil!”

“It’s called Fertilizer.” He corrected her.

“Whatever.” I scoffed and waved dismissively. “So what’s the big deal with Stardew Valley? Pelican Town and the valley are pretty and all but I haven’t seen anything to make it stand out over any other country town.”

“Stardew Valley is special, but I couldn’t tell you why my superiors are trying to take it over.” Morris replied. “So can I tell them you’re interested?”

“Of course I’m interested!” “Have your people call my people!”

“Excellent!”

There was certainly a pep in my step after speaking with Morris. I was chuckling all the way home, probably looked crazy. I wondered how far Joja was willing to go for this land grab, it was kind of scary. I couldn’t ignore that kind of money, I mean, if I really wanted to farm I could always do it somewhere else.

My first day here was pretty hectic, but I hadn’t forgotten I was supposed to go to Robin’s in the evening. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by telling her I was thinking of selling out to Joja, so I decided I’d keep that under wraps. These land grabs could also long drawn out and complicated, so it’s not like I’d be disappearing tomorrow even the process had started. Of course, if I really liked it here I could always buy another plot of land to stick a home on.

If I was going to stay I’d need some friends. So after putting my groceries away I set out to Robin’s. I was supposed to go up hill from Pierre’s General Store and keep going passed the old Community Centre. I could actually see their home up the mountain from town so I had no trouble getting there.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“Corrine, you came!” Robin seemed pleasantly surprised. 

“Of course, I didn’t want to be rude…. Again…” I sheepishly looked away.

“What’s this about?” A dark skinned man with short curls approached from behind Robin. “You didn’t tell me she was rude.”

“This is my husband Demetrius, as you can see we’re not related.”

“Um, what?”

“Oh I’m never going to live this down.” I sighed.

“You’re forgiven, come inside and I’ll introduce you to the kids.” Robin ushered her in.

The room just beyond the front door had a bunch of carpentry tools and a business counter. Robin ran her shop from in her home. She and Demetrius led me through a hall to the right and upstairs. There was another room adjacent to Robin’s Carpentry room that should have been the Kitchen and Dining Room – but I was shocked to see some kind of Laboratory there instead.

“This must be the science farm, where all the science happens.” I chuckled.

“You’re not wrong.” Demetrius replied.

“What am I to you?” Robin tsk’d. “You didn’t say as much while you were passing my work space! You see Demetrius and Maru’s Lab and suddenly we’re just a Science Farm.”

“Hey, when I see something weird I poke at it!”

“It’s not weird!” Robin replied.

“I’m glad you’re so inquisitive Corrine, but mocking everything you’re curious about might bother some people.” Demetrius added.

“I can’t help it.” I sighed.

There were too late teens sitting at the table as I entered with Robin and her husband. The young girl with glasses and dark red hair had some of her father’s facial features; the boy was white and had messy black hair, definitely a kid from a previous marriage.

“Hi Ms. Chester, I’m Sebastian and this is my sister wife Maru.” He deadpanned the delivery much to our collective horror. “Welcome to our Science Farm.”

“Sebby what the hell!” Maru buried her hands in her face.

“Sebastian, don’t tease your sister.” Demetrius replied.

“This is my daughter Maru, and my son Sebastian.” Robin introduced them. “Maru helps my husband with his experiments and works at the Clinic, and Sebastian is a Pro Gamer and Coder.”

“A Coder?” “You mean like he makes Codes for video games?”

“uuuugghh.”

“You should tell us what you’re working on sometime Sebby!” Robin happily replied. Sebastian didn’t seem too willing to spill the beans, and no one felt like pressing him on it.

Robin had cook up fish, peas and potatoes for dinner. It was actually a very nice meal, and a pleasant experience all around. Robin was shaping up to be a real good friend, and her family were as inviting as they were interesting – which was very!

Sabastion left fairly quickly after eating dinner, he said it was ‘nice meeting me!’ and retreated to the basement to work on his projects. Maru thought it was cool that I was ‘shaking up the community dynamic’, and Robin wanted me to attend an exercise class with her other girlfriends on Tuesdays. I said I’d think about it, even though I knew I wanted to go instantly. Thought it be weird if I sounded too excited.

I was really starting to like it here.


End file.
